Production of waves by cathode ray tubes



1933- A. MEISSNER 1 ,924,796

PRODUCTION OF WAVES BY CATHODE RAY TUBES Filed March 16, 1914 Or /Z7255 a: 371M 3 M "k ZZZ Bg %L31ML UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE PRODUCTION OF WAVES BY CATHODE RAY TUBES Alexander Meissner, Berlin, Germany, assignor, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America, represente Navy d by the Secretary of the Application March 16, 1914, Serial No. 825,188,

and in Germany April 9, 1913 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to process and apparatus for producing electrical waves.

cording to the invention one or more oscillation circuits are connected with a purely electrically operating booster in such way that the initial waves, produced by suitable wave impulses or other means, in the oscillation circuit are led to the booster and the currents strengthened therein operate again upon the oscillation circuit, whereby the amplitude of the natural oscillations of thecircuit is increased.

The device can be arranged in the form of a closed oscillation circuit coupled with an aperiodic booster, as for example a cathode ray relay, the closed oscillation circuit receiving its energy from the operating current of the relay. A part of the energy of the closed oscillation circuit is again returned. to the booster relay,

so that the energy delivered by the relay to the oscillation circuit is increased.

Anexample of the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure 1 shows in a diagrammatical form an arrangement of a system in which a cathode ray relay is employed as a booster in connection with an oscillation circuit;

Figure 2 shows in diagrammatical form an arrangement in which the two half periods of the supplied alternating current are boosted by the use of two relays;

Figure 3 shows a modification of the relay in.

which two auxiliary anodes are employed instead of one, as shown in Figures 1 and 2,

metal oxide.

0 Such oxide cathodes when properly heated have the advantage that the surrounding gaseous medium is strongly ionized. These oxide filaments'are particularly useful at comparatively low temperatures and voltages.

If, on the other hand, higher voltages are used which increase the temperature, these oxides are apt to evaporate, which renders the relay useless in a short time for the purpose described. It is therefore desirable in case of higher voltages to use tantaluxn--, tungstenosmium-or filaments without any oxide coating.

also carbon- Such filaments will stand a permanent heavy load without causing a change of the tube vacuum and thus reducing the efiiciency of therelay. An auxiliary electrode 4 consisting of a metal grid and dividing the tube into two portions, is electrically connected with the cathode 2 by the coupling coil 8 to form a circuit '7. The space -between electrodes 2 and 4 forms the primary path a and the space between electrodes 2 and 3 the secondary path for the oscillations. The oscillation circuit 31 comprises a condenser 29 and the two self-induction coils 30 and 11, and is coupled to the aforementioned circuit '7 by the coils 30 and 80f the two circuits. This oscillationcirouit 31 stands in electrically conductive connection on the one hand with the anode 3, and on the-other hand by means of the source of current 10 with the cathode 2 of the tube 1. A choking coil is shown at 12, which, with the capacity 14 is necessary when the source of curv rent 10, used for feeding the discharge tube 1', is not a battery but a direct current machine. In this case, the inductance and the capacity offset the disturbing influence of the oscillations produced by the commutator of machine 10. The capacity 14 further serves to provide a good path for the high frequency current flowing in the circuit 9, comprising the elements 3, 29, 14, 2.

The method of operation is as follows:

When the cathode 2 becomes heated by the source of current 5, the current from the source of current .10 can then flow through the ionized discharge chamber of the tube. If now the oscillation circuit 31 which is connected with the tube 1, be excited to oscillate at its own period, which occurs already upon throwing in the operating current of the tube 1 supplied by source 10, for instance by closing switch or key 16, the oscillations will be impressed upon the current of the tube 1 operating as a booster relay, and be strengthened; owing to the coupling at 8, 30. The strengthened oscillations which return to the oscillation circuit 31 by way of the circuit 9 increase the amplitude of oscillations in the circuit and are thenv transmitted again to the booster l with the aid or" the coupling coils 30 and 8. This operation repeats itself as far as the internal resistance of the discharge tube and the tension of the source of energy 10 permit, up to a condition of equilibrium between the energy impressed upon the discharge tube 1 and the energy which is there dissipated. Moreover, the entire system is brought into a state of permanent oscillation.

This oscillating energy may be supplied from circuit 31 for instance to an antenna 13, connected as shown.

In the above example of my invention the source of current for the relay serves at the same time as the energy source for the oscillations produced. Direct current from a battery or a direct current machine has heretofore been the only current proposed as the operating current for such relays. The amount of the oscillating energy produced by the tube is dependent upon the strength of current flowing through the tube. In order to produce greater amounts or" energy it is therefore necessary, to supply to the tube energy at a higher potential at the anode and cathode. For this purpose, a further embodiment of my invention employs alternating current for feeding the relay, which is brought to the necessary tension preferably by means of transformers. It has been shown that tubes of this character operate also when alternating current is used, and that the production of oscillations occurs regularly in that half period during which a positive potential exists at the anode. In this way oscillating impulses are obtained which are separated from each other by pauses of one-half period in length.

Since relay 1 acts as a rectifier and thus permits the passage of current substantially only in one direction, the oscillations thus produced consist substantially only of direct current pulsations, even if at 10 an alternating current generator should be employed.

The number of high frequency oscillations produced is solely determined by the electric constants in the closed oscillation circuit 31, and

riod one is operating and during the other half period the other is operating. The anode of one relay in this arrangement should be connected with that conductor which leads to the cathode of the other.

This is clearly shown in Figure 2. The cathode 2 and the auxiliary anode 4 of relay 1 are connected with the coupling coil 8 by Way of circuit 7 in which is a condenser 40, whereas the cathode 2 and auxiliary anode 4 of relay 1 are connected with coil 8 by way of circuit '7. The anode 3 of tube 1 and cathode 2 of tube 1' are connected by a common conductor 32 with one terminal of the alternating current generator 33, whereas the cathode 2 and anode 3' of the two tubes 1 and 1 respectively are connected bya common conductor 34 and by way of closed oscillation circuit 34 with the other terminal of generator 33. In this manner the current of the machine can flow through one relay during one-half period and through the other relay during the other half period.

During the experiments made with a generator as source of energy described hereinbe'fore, it

has been found that the effect of the relay and the energy produced is increased, if a form of relay is used in which instead of a grid at the auxiliary anode 4, described before, two oppositely arranged electrodes are used, which determine the primary path of the relay and to which the alternating current potential of the oscillation circuit is connected. This form is shown in Figure 3, in which 35, 36 are the two auxiliary electrodes which are located in circuit '7 and which are connected with the coil 30 of the closed oscillation circuit 31.

In order to obtain upon the ion-current a particularly strong effect by the oscillation circuit, connected with the relay, it is of advantage to arrange the two electrodes in the form of two interleafed combs as shown in Figure 4 or, as two interleafed spirals as shown in Figure 5.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for producing and increasing the amplitude of oscillations, comprising an aperiodic booster relay having a primary and secondary path for the oscillations, an oscillation circuit and means for setting up oscillations therein, said oscillation circuit being inductively coupled at one point with the primary and inductively coupled at another point with the secondary path of said booster, the oscillations originating in said circuit being increased and sustained by said relay.

2. An apparatus for producing and increasing the amplitude of oscillations, comprising an aperiodic booster relay consisting of a cathode ray tube, having a heated cathode and having a primary and a secondary path for the oscillations, an oscillation circuit and means for setting up oscillations therein, said oscillation circuit being inductively coupled with the primary and the secondary path. of said booster, the oscillations originating in said circuit being increased and sustained by said relay.

An apparatus for producing and increasing the amplitude of oscillations, comprising an aperiodic booster relay, consisting of a cathode ray tube having a heated cathode, an anode and an auxiliary anode disposed between the cathode and the anode, the path between the cathode and the auxiliary anode forming the primary path, and the path between the cathode and the anode forming the secondary path for the oscillations, an oscillation circuit and means for setting up oscillations therein, said oscillation circuit being inductively coupled with the primary and the secondary path of said booster, the oscillations originating in said circuit being increased and sustained by said relay.

4. An apparatus for producing and increasing the amplitude of oscillations, comprising an aperiodic booster relay, having a primary and a secondary path for the oscillations, an oscillation circuit, a high potential source of alternating current for setting up oscillations therein, said oscillation circuit being operatively connected with the primary and the secondary path of said booster, the oscillations originating in said circuit being increased and sustained by said relay.

5. An apparatus for producing and increasing the amplitude of oscillations comprising two aperiodic booster relays, each relay consisting of a cathode ray tube having a heated cathode, an auxiliary anode disposed between the cathode and the anode, the path between the cathode and the auxiliary anode forming the primary path, and the path between the cathode and the anode forming the secondary path for the oscillations, an oscillation circuit and an alternating current generator for setting up oscillations therein, said two relays being connected in parallel to said alternating current generator such that the anode of one relay and the cathode of the other relay are connected to the same terminal of the generator, so that both relays operate alternately, one at each half period of the generator, each of said relays having a primary circuit, and both of said circuits being coupled in parallel with said oscillation circuit, the oscillations originating in said circuit being increased and sustained by said for setting up oscillations therein, said oscillation circuit being inductively coupled with the primary and the secondary path of said booster, the oscillations originating in said circuit being increased and sustained by said relay.

7. In combination a three-electrode vacuum tube amplifying system and means for energizing said system for operation from an alternating current source of potential including means for employing the energy of both halves of a cycle of said alternating current.

ALEXANDER MEISSNER. 

